Stop Calling It “Innovation”

Challenges blow in followed by new ideas. The current disrupted environment is raining down all kinds of new user needs. These needs are pulsing possibilities for a newly designed solution. While I support innovation, in today’s world the term seems a tad sulfurous, its luster tarnished, by overuse. Why be muddled in innovation when there are so many new potentially lucrative challenges that are simply a use case needing design thinking, to solve.

Innovate – at the end of the day maybe we should be thinking, Design-Ovate. Businesses are grappling with a storm of changing market factors; through that storm, it is difficult to see the nuances. A good game plan may be, to bring the collective vision to the new user needs. This approach galvanizes discovery to focus on designing for purpose, then form.

New challenges likely exist in close proximity to the products or services in your current offering. Finding the fascinating new user experiences closely related to your core business is a great start point. Your industry knowledge and business heritage are involved but it is, the fresh look at the interaction going on with the user challenges that could chart your course for future success.